


a wild ride.

by danganronpa_wereverse



Series: before the beginning. [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: M/M, Mpreg, Pregnancy, Trans, Trans Male Character, Trans Pregnancy, Transgender Pregnancy, heed the tags, i'll add more if i need them, trans male, trans male juzo, trans male juzo sakakura, transgender male
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-08 13:34:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21476845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danganronpa_wereverse/pseuds/danganronpa_wereverse
Summary: it's a totally wild ride, the one that leads to the birth of juzo and kyosuke's cubs, but one they wouldn't mind getting on again and again if it means moments like these. a story in three arcs: past, present, and future. buckle up kids, it's gonna be a long one! wereverse au. featuring trans juzo and cis kyosuke. a "prequel" if you will to "on time."currently on chapter 5:Juzo gives a surprised hiss, but then the voice comes again, soft and sweet."Come here, my pet, and see what a lovely gift I have for you."It's as though the voice melts his inhibitions, and he steps forward. The man bends down to slip a collar of leather and jewels around his neck, strokes his mane, and then stands upright once more.If it'd ended there, it might've been nice.
Relationships: Chisa Yukizome/Daiya Oowada, Kyosuke Munakata/Juzo Sakakura, Ruruka Ando/Seiko Kimura, Ruruka Ando/Sonosuke Izayoi
Series: before the beginning. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548055
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. Eight weeks.

**Author's Note:**

> The Basics:  
Everyone is some kind of shifter. Shifters can be any caniform or feliform species (so cats, wild cats, big cats, dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, foxes, and cross-breeds). Shifters are commonly born in litters of 2-4, however as many as 8 have been recorded but this is rare. Same-gender relationships and transgender people are relatively common. Infant mortality is low. Also, shifters are functionally immortal: they don’t age past adulthood physically, but can still be killed in certain ways. Also, to support the birth of multiple cubs in a litter, shifters have pleasurable births. Because I said so.

How did he end up here?

Juzo Sakakura splashes cold water on his face from the sink, finally turning off the faucet and leaning against the counter top. He moves only his eyes to the side, staring at the small plastic sick on the edge of the sink that will determine his fate. This story will either be a sweet romance, or a bitter tragedy, and he won't know which one it is until tomorrow morning. The test will be done in less than a minute, but Kyosuke Munakata doesn't come home from his business trip until tomorrow morning, and Juzo absolutely won't give him the results of this test over the phone. This is something he needs to face him for.

He closes his eyes and shudders, repeating the question in his head: _how did he end up here?_

Well... about that. He remembers a little bit.

_Their sweat-slicked bodies are so close together, they're practically holding each other, Kyosuke holding Juzo close to his chest while Juzo keeps his arms wrapped around his back, and his thighs around his hips. The scent of sex and Juzo's heat completely fills the room, **Kyosuke's** room; not a room unfamiliar to Juzo, but now it smells more like him than its occupant._

_"Juzo," Kyosuke pants, his frame trembling as he tries to hold back long enough to ask his question. He can feel the knot at the base of his cock start to swell, threatening to keep them bound together if he doesn't speak quickly. "Juzo, darling, do you want me to --"_

_"No," the other were growls out, his claws digging slightly into Kyosuke's back, leaving marks that his shirt will hide, but that he will know about. "No, baby, I want you to cum in me, God, I wanna feel you when you do."_

_Kyosuke shivers, keeps speaking, somehow, "Are you sure, won't you --"_

_Juzo shakes his head. "Doesn't matter, don't worry about it, **please** just keep fuckin' me. I don't wanna think about anything else this week except **you**."_

_Kyosuke huffs out a breathy laugh. "Absolutely. Keep moving the way you are, and there won't be a person in this complex who doesn't know our names."_

_As if proving his point, Juzo yowls out "**Kyosuke!**" as the Akita were pushes himself in to the hilt, their hips flush as his knot ties them together, howling Juzo's name in turn as he cums._

Well. That _almost_ worked, Juzo thinks. He remembers next to nothing from the whole week he was in heat except his lover's body, the way he was able to rock his body like no one, nothing ever had, every time he screamed his name, the way Juzo threaded his fingers through Kyosuke's stark white hair whenever he put his head between his legs.

No, wait, hold on. Juzo shakes his head as his face flushes. That's not really what he needs to be thinking about in detail right now. The problem isn't so much what they did while they fucked. The problem is that _they fucked_ and Juzo let Kyosuke actually finish in him. Kyosuke, who is at the top of his career, who he's lucky to even have consider him, who he has a mating mark on his chest from by some miracle (it's an Akita paw being held by a lion's paw, a deep symbol of trust for weres), who has the same mark on his chest just above his heart. The man who is usually so very, very careful about these things. The man who carries a condom everywhere he goes, or at the very least, pulls out long before he gets to a point where he needs to worry about it.

Juzo could have very well fucked up his boyfriend's whole life, not to mention his own. Never mind the fact he's already been pregnant once before, by a different man, and it... didn't end well. But he can't think about that either right now. He doesn't want to start throwing up again.

Anyway. Fast forward two and a half months to today, about an hour before now.

_"I need your help."_

_Juzo shows up at Seiko Kimura-Ando's residence, shrugs off his coat when she lets him in and tosses it on the couch like he usually does. Saving a person from being expelled from Hope's Peak really brings you closer together, it seems._

_"... are you going to tell me what you want?" Seiko asks after a few seconds. "Oh, but, be quiet, Ruruka's overdue and sleeping, and if you wake her up, I can't guarantee I'll be able to save you."_

_"Yeah, sure, like I'm gonna die at the hands of a cranky, pregnant bobcat. She can't even reach my neck to strangle me; she tried."_

_"Tell me what you want, or get out."_

_Juzo rolls his eyes. "I think I caught somethin'. I wanna figure out what I caught and get rid of it before Kyosuke or Chisa hear about it and have me quarantined."_

_"Well, what are your symptoms?" Seiko asks, making her way over to the medicine cabinet in the hallway while Juzo sits on the couch in the living room. "Aching, coughing, fever, headache, loss of appetite --"_

_"Let me answer, walking encyclopedia," Juzo mutters. "I'm puking like crazy, it's insane. I'm **tired.**"_

_"How tired?"_

_"I went up a flight of stairs today and felt like I was gonna pass out."_

_"Unfortunate. Continue."_

_"I'm achy, I'm sore, 'specially my chest. It hurts like hell. I can't remember shit. But the nausea's the worst, by far. If it's not crackers and Sprite, I can't keep it down."_

_Seiko looks like she's thinking for a moment, shuts the doors to her medicine cabinet, and walks back to the living room, sitting on the love seat across from Juzo. She folds her gloved hands in front of her, crosses her legs at the knee, and twitches her rounded tail._

_"I think I know what you've caught," she says. "I think you've caught cubs."_

_Juzo stares at her, not realizing what she's saying. "Excuse me?"_

_"I think you're pregnant."_

_It feels like he's just had all of the breath completely knocked out of him. Juzo pales, his stare going wide-eyed. "No. No way in **hell**."_

_"Well, let's keep going down the list," Seiko suggests. "When was the day your last period ended?"_

_"Three months ago," Juzo answers after thinking for a minute. "Uh, three months ago today, actually. The 18th."_

_"Are they usually this far in-between?"_

_"No, but, I've been like... bleedin' a little bit since then."_

_"Light and irregular?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Probably spotting, then. Not a period. When was your last heat cycle?"_

_"Two and a half months ago."_

_"Did you have sex at that time?"_

_"This's so weird, you're like my sister," Juzo says, then sighs heavily. "Yeah, I did. All seven days."_

_"Did you use any form of protection? Even pulling out counts for this question."_

_"Oh my God, I get it. No, we didn't. No condoms, I stopped takin' birth control a year ago 'cause it fucked with my testosterone, so no. He didn't pull out, either, thanks."_

_"Cool. And you two are both healthy?"_

_"Yeah, we're clean. Far as I know, Kyosuke's got no problems, my... my mom had lung cancer that spread, but that's just 'cause my dad smoked. I've never had any issues."_

_"Just a few more questions, then. You said your chest has been sore, has their appearance changed at all? Have you noticed the skin around your nipples get darker?"_

_"Quick question, what the **hell** kind of question is that?"_

_"An important one, now answer it."_

_"Fuck, fine. **Yes**, I've noticed that. I look... swollen, too. Like I get before my period, why does that matter?"_

_"Because, it's an early sign of pregnancy. Do you have a coppery taste in your mouth sometimes?"_

_"Yeah..." He looks and sounds a lot less confident now than before._

_"Weight gain, any at all?"_

_"A couple pounds. I just... thought it was, y'know, water retention, this's around when I'd get my period anyway... where's this going?"_

_"Just one more question, now." Seiko looks at him seriously. "Why are you so sure you can't be pregnant?"_

_His breath hitches, and Juzo curls his claws into the fabric of his jeans. "Cause -- I just **can't** be, okay? Kyosuke and I **just** started talkin' about movin' in together, like, **last week.** The only time I ever mentioned cubs, it was as a joke like, four months ago, and he said he was nowhere near ready."_

_Seiko sighs. "It's possible, though very unlikely, that your body is mimicking the signs of a pregnancy due to stress. But you need to be sure. If you're carrying cubs, you need to know as soon as possible, so you can take whatever preparations you need." Her eyes soften a little. "I won't judge you. I swear on my life. We have leftover pregnancy tests in the bathroom. You can go ahead and take one, if you'd like."_

_Juzo gets to his feet on shaking legs, goes into the bathroom, takes a pregnancy test from beneath the sink, and returns to the living room, shoving it deep in his pocket before he's swept into a tight hug from Seiko, completely unexpectedly. Usually, she can't **stand** physical contact from anyone other than Ruruka and rarely Sonosuke; being autistic, she doesn't like to be touched most of the time, but now she hugs him like her life depends on it._

_"Please, tell me what happens. Even if it's not today, or tomorrow, or even in a week, I'd like to know. I want to be there for you, like you were there for me so long ago."_

_Juzo swallows heavily and nods. "I'll -- I'll let you know."_

_He makes it all the way back to his apartment two blocks away, locks himself in the bathroom, and cries until it feels like he can't breathe._

His minute is over.

Juzo looks over at the pregnancy test again. It's lying face-down. He takes it, gripping it tight in his fist; not so hard that it breaks, but enough to ensure he can't accidentally catch a glimpse of it as he walks into his bedroom, lies down on his back on the bed.

He stares at his clenched fist for a few seconds. God. How did he get here?

Slowly, Juzo holds up his other hand, closes his eyes as he opens his fist and turns the test so he's holding it at both ends between his thumb and index finger of both hands.

He opens his eyes, vision blurring for a moment until his eyes finally settle on the face of the test. It's a fancy one, and the little screen glows light blue in the dim light of the room.

It takes a couple of seconds for what's written across the screen to fully process.

_Pregnant._

Juzo Sakakura finds out he's pregnant by Kyosuke Munakata at 4:12 PM on May 18th exactly, leaving him with six and a half months until he's due to give birth. To their cubs.

He's still not sure what's going to happen between now and the end of those six and a half months, and he won't know until tomorrow morning, but regardless of the reaction he gets, it's going to be an absolutely wild ride.

And he really doesn't know if it's a ride he's ready to get on.


	2. Eight weeks. Part two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please be careful, this chapter briefly mentions abortion at the start (simply mentioned, not followed through), and then a past miscarriage later on.

Juzo can't sleep.

He lies awake all night, holding his hand to his belly -- still just as flat and toned as always, no changes there yet -- and thinking, desperately trying to think of a way to get himself out of the corner he's been backed into. Maybe there's a way for him to get this over with without Kyosuke ever knowing? He certainly _could_ do that. He doesn't have to tell him a thing, can call the nearest clinic and have it done before the day is out, but.

That's not _really_ what he wants. Not at all.

What he _wants_ is a family. What he _wants_ is to see Kyosuke holding their cubs, talking to them, playing with them, watching them grow up with Juzo by his side.

He wants to do it over again, to get the chance he lost all those years ago. Not something to replace the three lives that died inside of him; rather, something to forge new memories within him.

Again, Juzo puts a hand over his belly, tries not to cry as he rests his head on the pillow. It's nearing 7 A.M. Kyosuke will be home within the next thirty minutes. He doesn't know yet that there are anywhere from one to eight tiny lives growing within his boyfriend, right at this very moment.

But he's going to soon. Because Juzo is going to tell him, one way or another.

* * *

At some point, Juzo passes out. When he wakes, there's a very familiar scent wrapped around him, a very familiar man's hands on his hips, familiar lips pressing against his jaw and working their way down to his collarbone.

"Hey, stranger," Juzo greets with a breathy laugh. Kyosuke hums softly, his kisses getting softer before he pulls back a little to speak.

"Hello, darling. I've missed you dearly." Kyosuke kisses him once more, lets his hands wander a little. "Mmmh... have you missed me, too?"

"You have no idea." For a moment, melting into his boyfriend's embrace, Juzo is almost able to forget about the little developments inside of him.

Then it comes back to him, all at once, and it feels like he's been hit by a truck.

Slowly, Juzo props himself up on his palms and looks over his shoulder at the man behind him. Kyosuke's hair is more than a little scruffy, as he hasn't been able to style it yet. He's taken off his suit jacket, and the top three buttons of his shirt are undone, his collar gone a bit askew.

Juzo can't entirely blame his reaction on his hormones.

"I brought you something back from my trip," Kyosuke says, sitting up as Juzo does. Juzo turns fully to face him, and Kyosuke leans in, kisses his lips so softly Juzo's afraid he's imagining it for a second. "You still like German beer, don't you?"

"Ah... heh, yeah, I do," Juzo mumbles. He looks off to the side, then swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. He's in just his sleep shirt and a pair of shorts, tufted tail twitching while he stretches. "I, uh. I got somethin' for you, too. C'mon."

Juzo takes Kyosuke's hand and leads him into the kitchen, leans himself against the counter while he tries to think of how to say this. _Use your words, Juzo. It's just two of 'em. "I'm pregnant." Hell, you could even be cute about it if you want, say "We've got a bun in the oven", or if you wanna jump right in, "You knocked me up, do you wanna stick around or are you gonna bail?", just say __**something**__ you Goddamn idiot._

"You okay?"

Juzo opens his eyes and looks at Kyosuke, who's looking at him in turn with clear worry in his perfect, gorgeous, amazing blue-violet eyes. _Will their cubs have those eyes? _Juzo's torn between hoping they do and hoping they don't. In the event that Kyosuke takes this well, and stays with him, then having a couple of Kyosuke-clones running around the house might not be such a bad thing.

But in the event that he _doesn't_ take this well, and leaves Juzo completely alone to care for God knows how many cubs on his own... having to be constantly reminded of the love of his life, whom he had next to him _finally_ after pining after him for _so long_, leaving him? Juzo's not sure that's something he can take.

All of these thoughts rush through him within about five seconds, but instead of saying any of this, Juzo just smiles back at Kyosuke and nods. "Yeah, babe, I'm fine. Really great, actually."

"You were staring off into space. Are you sure?" The worry is still clear on Kyosuke's face, so Juzo takes a deep breath in, holding it for a few seconds, before breathing out slowly.

Juzo takes both of Kyosuke's hands in his. "Hey, Kyosuke? Tell me, what do you see when you look at me?"

"That's easy. An incredibly strong, stunningly handsome man who I've been in love with since I was a teenager." A smile twitches at the corners of his lips.

"How about when you look at yourself?"

Kyosuke pauses for a moment, not expecting the question.

"A little harder. I see a man working his hardest, who is so very lucky to have a best friend who isn't afraid to tell him exactly what she thinks of him, and a boyfriend who loves him for who he is, and not the image he gives."

"When you think about the future... do you see us?"

"Of course I do. I can only ever see us. I can't imagine a future I'd want to willingly be in where you are not by my side." He looks at Juzo, still obviously a little worried. "Why?"

"Well... I see us, too. And uh... a couple more."

Kyosuke blinks, clearly confused. "A couple more? Are you... do you want pets?"

Juzo snorts. He gently squeezes Kyosuke's hands. "Nah, that'd be cool, though. But nah. I meant... I meant people. One to eight of 'em, 'cause..." He looks down, carefully pressing Kyosuke's hands to his belly, where the little lives inside of him are safely growing. They have _heartbeats_ by now, he thinks. "'Cause you're gonna be a dad, Kyosuke Munakata." He sniffs a little. "You're gonna be a _dad_."

Despite his head telling him not to, Juzo's heart desperately tells him to _look at Kyosuke, look at your boyfriend, right now_, so he does. Apparently, his words are just sinking in, and Juzo can't look away as Kyosuke's face goes from completely confused, then wide-eyed shock, then...

Then there's a _huge_ smile across his face, and his eyes are shining. With _tears_, he realizes.

"Are you..." Kyosuke starts to murmur, rubbing his palms a little on Juzo's belly where he placed them. "Are you serious? You're -- are you -- this is _real_?"

Juzo nods, his own eyes welling up with tears now. There's so much happening all at once, he's not sure yet if the tears are happy, sad, or a mix of both. "Yeah, baby. I got cubs in me. You put 'em there, can't be anyone else's."

"I know, I know, but --" Kyosuke laughs, like Juzo's never heard him before, and he sweeps Juzo into his arms, picks him up like he weighs nothing and steps back into the center of Juzo's tiny kitchen, twirling him around effortlessly.

"Wh -- hey, Kyosuke --" Juzo starts to say. For a moment, Kyosuke doesn't answer; he just keeps Juzo firmly in his arms, carries him to the couch in the living room where he sets him down on his back, as gentle as any dog with a newborn pup, or a sculptor gently placing down a fragile masterpiece. Kyosuke settles his chest between Juzo's legs, pulls his shirt up a bit to press soft kisses on every part of his belly he can reach.

"Juzo Sakakura," he murmurs against his skin. "You've made me the happiest man on this planet."

"Kyosuke..." Juzo's voice is strained, barely a whisper as he shakes, tears streaming down his face. This is not what he was expecting, not in the least. _What was he expecting? _Fear, resistance, horror, rejection?

Definitely not Kyosuke, holding him like he's made entirely of glass, kissing his belly and speaking those words, so softly.

"I -- I thought -- you didn't -- want cubs," Juzo chokes out, trying his damnedest not to sob but failing miserably. Kyosuke looks up, pulls himself up just a bit so he can rest his hand against Juzo's cheek. "You -- you told me -- you told me you weren't ready."

"I'm not," Kyosuke laughs, tears falling from his eyes now, too. "I'm so sorry if I upset you. I meant I wasn't ready at the moment, I wasn't ready to plan or think about it, not that I didn't _want_ them. I _want_ a family, with _you_, and _only_ you."

His words only make Juzo cry harder. He thought he'd cried all of his tears the night previously, but apparently not. "I -- I don't -- I don't --"

"I wanted to be at my _best_ when you got pregnant," Kyosuke explains. "I wanted to ensure I could care for you, and our cubs, not just financially, but _emotionally_ as well. Being with you this past year has been like a dream, but I..." He pauses, sniffling. "There is no doubt in my mind that I love you. You are my soul mate. We are Bonded. But cubs are so much bigger than just the two of us. Four months ago, I was a completely different man. Now? I'm not ready to be a father, but in truth, no one ever is. But I _am_ completely ready to stay by your side, from start to finish, and to raise these cubs to know only a father's love." Again, he leans back down to kiss Juzo's belly, letting his lips linger for a moment.

"Fucking _hell_, Kyosuke," Juzo sobs. "You're -- gonna be a fucking _amazing_ dad. These cubs're gonna love the hell outta you, but -- fuck, Kyosuke, I never _had_ a good dad to learn from. Mine doesn't care whether I'm working here at Hope's Peak or dead in a fuckin' ditch somewhere. What if _I'm_ the one who screws up? What if _I'm_ the one who drops the ball? Then what?"

"That is why there are two of us," Kyosuke says, his voice unwavering and solid. He rubs his palm over Juzo's belly, feather-light and gentle as ever. "So we can pick up where the other is weaker. For now, though, as long as you are carrying my cubs, you will worry about _nothing._ You will want for _nothing._ Everything and anything you want, or you need, I'll make sure you get it, as soon as I can possibly get it to you." He rests his hand still against him. "And I can absolutely assure you that I am going nowhere. I would _never_ leave you, or the little ones inside of you, to fend for yourselves as long as I have a say in the matter."

Juzo cries, and cries, and keeps crying, because every time he thinks he's going to be able to stop, Kyosuke says something _else_ that completely _ruins_ him. "Kyo -- Kyosuke, I'm -- I'm _sorry_, I'm _sorry_ I thought that you'd -- that you'd -- even _think_ about doing that, I'm so sorry --"

Kyosuke shushes him gently, rubs his thumb over his lips to quiet him. "Do not apologize to me. There is nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all."

Juzo sniffles, finally starting to calm down. "Okay, okay, I just -- one, one more thing you gotta know --" He takes as deep a breath as he can manage at the moment, then lets it out slow and shaky. "This -- you -- I -- when I was nineteen, I was pregnant. I -- I lost the litter, all three at five months. It was -- a different guy, you were gone, I just -- he told me he loved me, we slept together, I got pregnant, and I lost 'em."

"Oh, my love..." Kyosuke presses his lips to his belly and holds his hips gently, closes his eyes, lets his scent wash over him completely. "Was it... spontaneous?"

Juzo shakes his head. "Not... not really, no. I, uh..." He swallows heavy, bites his lip as a foul memory flashes before his eyes.

_"I told you, I don't want the little bastards. I gave you the chance to get rid of them yourself, and you didn't." **His** hand balls into a fist in the collar of Juzo's shirt. "So you've forced my hand, Sakakura. If you're too much of a pussy, I'll do it my damn self."_

Biting back the bile that rises in his throat, Juzo continues after a few seconds of silence. "I fell. Tripped, like a Goddamn idiot. It was my fault, I was just..." He trails off, and is then brought back to Earth by the warm press of Kyosuke's lips against his lower belly.

"Then, if you're afraid of ever encountering something like that again, I would _gladly_ carry you for every step of this journey. Our cubs will be born safely. That I can promise you." He opens his eyes, looks up at Juzo. "How far along are you? Have you made any appointments yet?"

"I, uh... I talked to Seiko yesterday, before I thought I might be pregnant. We kinda figured out I'm probably around ten weeks. I know that's kinda late, but I just... I just didn't think I could be pregnant."

"Well, you aren't in labor, so I'd say it's not too late," Kyosuke chuckles. "We can make the first appointment together, then. I'll make absolutely sure to take off, no matter what. I want to be right there with you to see them for the first time."

Juzo rubs hard at his eyes. "Okay... okay. Yeah. I'd want you there, anyway. I kinda wanna know how many we got in there, y'know?"

"Hmm... of course. I can't _wait_ to see you, full-term with our cubs." Kyosuke leans in, kisses the bottom of his belly once more, then murmurs, "But more than anything, I cannot _wait_ to meet all of you. My precious little ones."

Indeed, their story is going to be a romance sweeter than any candy Ruruka could ever dream of making.


	3. Ten weeks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did my math wrong lmao the last few chapters/details should mention Juzo being ten weeks instead of eight so just pretend I did that for now. Also big big TW for rape mention.

They stay on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms, for the rest of the day, and then fall asleep like that as well. Juzo wakes up first the next morning; Kyosuke's still a bit jet-lagged, so that's not entirely a surprise. The Akita were still has his cheek pressed against Juzo's belly, from where he was speaking to the tiny lives inside of him who can't yet hear him, but who Juzo likes to think can feel their father's love already. He takes the time to run his fingers through Kyosuke's hair, petting him gently while he sleeps. Every once and a while, his tail will wag, or his foot will twitch, and he'll give a quiet "_yip_" in his sleep.

Juzo can tell from how deeply he's sleeping now that he hasn't slept well in a while.

It's not until around noon when Kyosuke finally starts to wake up. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times before parting his jaws in a wide yawn, his ears twitching and swiveling to attention after a few moments. His eyes settle on Juzo's face after a few moments, and a tiny smile stretches his lips.

"Morning, handsome," Juzo says, stroking his hand through his hair one last time. He rests his warm, calloused hand on Kyosuke's cheek, and the other man leans into it, his tail making soft "thump" noises as it hits the side of the couch when he wags it. "How'd you sleep?"

"Much better knowing that you're here," Kyosuke replies candidly, stretching a little bit and lifting his head. He pushes himself up, gently presses his lips against Juzo's, before pulling back. "Tell me yesterday was real, and I didn't dream it up, or imagine it."

Juzo chuckles softly. "Mmm... pretty sure I'm still pregnant, so yeah, yesterday was real. I... kinda can't believe it myself. I thought you'd be mad."

Kyosuke is quiet for a moment. "Was... your last partner, was he angry? When you told him?" There's a beat of silence. "Please, don't answer me if I push too far--"

"No, no, 's fine, I just... here's the thing," Juzo sighs. "The litter was... I mean, it was kinda his idea."

"Kinda?" Kyosuke parrots. He raises an eyebrow. "Do... you want to explain?"

"I locked myself in my apartment the heat cycle I got pregnant on," Juzo continues. "I told him not to come around, I didn't _wanna_ get pregnant, Mom had just died, Dad fucked off to God knows where, it was the _worst_ possible timing. But... I forgot I'd given him a key, just in case somethin' happened to me, y'know?"

Kyosuke nods, but his eyes look incredibly dangerous. Juzo can't see it at the moment, as he's looking down to the floor. He's so caught up in the memory, he can't feel Kyosuke's energy, sense the slight change in his scent to indicate his anger as Juzo continues.

"So, uh, he got in. I was... pretty out of it. I _do_ remember tellin' him if he was hellbent on doing this, I wanted him to use a condom but, ah. That didn't happen." He laughs bitterly. "Anyway. Next month, my period didn't come, so I took a test. I already knew though. The only other time I was ever late was when I'd gotten my first testosterone shot."

Juzo pauses, thinking. "I told him that day, and he told me that's what he wanted, but... maybe I'm confused, 'cause I swear I remember him sayin' he told me he _didn't_ want the litter on the day he --" He stops and swallows. Kyosuke can sense the lie in his next words, but doesn't point it out. " -- when I, y'know, fell. But he did call an ambulance, and looked pretty upset..." His brow furrows.

Kyosuke can see exactly what's going on here, even though the story is obviously missing some parts; whether by Juzo's own omission, or his inability to remember, he might never know. "I see what happened. So what you're saying is, he came into your residence, without your permission, raped you while you were vulnerable, and then manipulated you into not being able to trust your own memories by telling you two different stories and framing them both as the honest truth." His eyes are narrowed, but his anger is not directed at Juzo in the slightest. "Am I getting warmer?"

"I..." Juzo pauses. "I mean... I dunno, maybe I'm just not remembering it right. I told Chisa everything right after it happened, and she told me to dump him, so I did and I stayed with her for a while -- yeah, 'cause that's when she met Daiya."

Kyosuke gives a soft huff at the name; he and Daiya Oowada have never been what you might call "friendly." It's simple: Chisa is Kyosuke's best friend, has been ever since they were kids, and he's (in his eyes, anyway) rightfully protective over her. She's had a lot of people break her heart, and while the disabled ex-biker clearly adores her, no one can ever love her like Kyosuke does. Juzo and Daiya aren't best buddies, either, but they get along more amicably than he and Kyosuke do.

"Then... should we talk to Chisa, at some point? It could be important to get all of the information, especially if your body was potentially damaged by the miscarriage." Kyosuke's eyes soften, and he runs his hand over Juzo's belly. "We need to know if this pregnancy will be high-risk or not. I don't want anything happening to you, or to them."

"Yeah, at some point." Juzo goes quiet. "It's just... just gotta be the right time, that's all."

Kyosuke nods, then pulls himself close to Juzo again, gently tilts his head towards him by putting his hand on his cheek. "May I kiss you, my dearest?" He asks.

"Yeah," Juzo murmurs. "I'd like that. I've missed you. I wanna feel you again."

Carefully, gently, Kyosuke leans down and presses a kiss to Juzo's lips. Juzo returns it, almost a little hesitant at first, before Kyosuke opens his mouth a bit to deepen it and Juzo lifts his leg a bit to rub his thigh over Kyosuke's waist. Kyosuke groans softly against Juzo's lips, grinds his hips against Juzo's, pulls him close so he can rock his body back and forth in time with his own --

_Bang! Bang bang bang!_

Both of them give frustrated groans as someone repeatedly and loudly slams their fist into their front door, then starts ringing the doorbell. They both stare at each other.

"Can you walk?" Juzo asks Kyosuke.

"Yeah. Do you want to change before I open the door?" Kyosuke asks Juzo. He's still in his clothes from yesterday that he slept in: the oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts short enough to disappear underneath said shirt.

"Nope. She's seen way more of me than this, it'll be fine."

Kyosuke nods, untangles himself from Juzo, then heads to the door and unlocks it. No sooner has he done that, though, then the door swings open with incredible force, and he's forced to leap backwards to avoid it hitting him square in the face. A red-haired blur flies in through the door, slamming it shut behind her, tail wagging fast enough that it looks like she's trying to take flight.

And that's how Chisa Yukizome arrives in Juzo's apartment.

"Hey Kyosuke, how was your trip, you look like a mess," she says in a rush to the dazed man in front of her. Then, she whirls around, spots Juzo on the couch, and moves towards him like a heat-seeking missile. "Juzo, holy shit!"

"Good afternoon to you, too," Kyosuke mumbles as Chisa completely ignores him after her quick greeting, instead leaning over to cling to Juzo.

"Chisa, not that I don't love the hell outta you, but why're you here?" Juzo sighs. "I was tryin' to have sex with my boyfriend."

Kyosuke sputters in the background as Chisa looks at him seriously. "Because I knew if I waited for you to come to me, I'd be waiting forever, and Daiya said I looked like I was about to keel over so I needed to come over here before I exploded." She says all of this in about ten seconds, then takes a deep breath to continue. "Juzo! Are you pregnant?"

Now, both Juzo and Kyosuke stare at her in shock. "Who told you?" They both ask at the same time.

Chisa smiles triumphantly (dare I say, a wolfish grin). "You just did."

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," Juzo groans. The oldest trick in the book, and he and Kyosuke _both_ fell for it. At the same time. "Okay, fine, yes, I'm pregnant. But what made you think I was in the first place?"

Before answering his question, Chisa gives a high pitched shriek of excitement, diving forward and hugging Juzo as tightly as she can.

"Chisa! Choking, not breathing!" He wheezes. She lets up after a few seconds and smiles at him.

"Funny story, actually, I went to see Seiko day before yesterday to see if she had any pregnancy tests left over, and she said that _someone_ had been by and taken the last one earlier. When I asked her who, she made a face that told me she knew she'd said too much, and tried to lie, but it was far too late for that! It just took some interrogation on my end and she told me you'd been by, but she didn't know if you were pregnant or not, or if you'd even talked to Kyosuke yet, so I decided I'd wait until you came to me, but then I got too excited and blah blah blah now I'm here! And you're pregnant!"

Juzo sighs at Chisa's story. Poor Seiko. It couldn't have taken much for her to crack under Chisa's line of questioning, what with her preparing for her, Ruruka, and Sonosuke's first litter and all. "Wait, hold on -- what did _you_ need a pregnancy test for? You can't be pregnant?"

"Well duh," Chisa rolls her eyes. "I'm not pregnant! Daiya is!" She puffs out her chest proudly. "Six weeks!"

"Congrats, but quit doin' that, you look like a bullfrog," Juzo says flatly. Chisa frowns at him. "Anyway, is that all? I gotta do like... _everything_ today, and like I said, I'd like to fuck my boyfriend 'cause I haven't in a week and I'm horny as hell, which you can't help me with, so if that's it, I'll call you later."

"Yes, that's it!" Chisa presses a friendly kiss to his cheek, then hops up and heads to the door. "I should get back to Daiya before he tries doing something stupid again, like putting a motor on his wheelchair. Bye you two! Have fun running errands, and if you start making lists of baby names, keep "Chisa" in mind, okay~?" She waves as she opens the door. "Toodles!"

The door slams shut, and just as quickly as she came, the F5 tornado known as Chisa Yukizome is gone.

Juzo and Kyosuke both sigh, before Juzo turns his head back towards Kyosuke. "I wasn't kidding. I haven't so much as thought about gettin' off since you've been gone. Whenever I wasn't sick, I was at work. So." He props his leg up on the couch and leans back a bit. "Come over here and fuck me like you did when you got me pregnant."

Kyosuke chuckles softly. "I can absolutely do that for you."

* * *

By the end of the day, both men are completely exhausted, but Kyosuke insists they go over tomorrow's course of action before they go to sleep.

"Tomorrow," Juzo starts, yawning. "We gotta go see Tsumiki. That's who Seiko went to when Ruruka got pregnant, she says she's really good with uh... y'know, not bein' judgmental and all that, and she's the Ultimate Nurse from the class below her, so. Then we can go see Seiko, let her know about all this, then..." He takes a deep breath. "... then we can ask Chisa about what happened last time. I'm sorry, Kyosuke, I keep tryin' to remember, I just... it's not there."

"Don't worry about it," Kyosuke murmurs, sitting on the edge of the bed with Juzo and squeezing his hand gently. "I don't blame you if you can't remember. Had I been through something that traumatic... I can't imagine willingly keeping that memory inside of me for very long." He frowns. "I... can't help but feel like... if I _hadn't_ disappeared when I did for so long, perhaps I could have been there to support you. So you wouldn't have had to go through it alone."

Juzo's quiet for a moment, then flops over onto his back on the bed, inviting Kyosuke to stretch out next to him. He does, and rests his head on Juzo's shoulder while he pulls him in close. "Hey, 's fine, not your fault my ex was a scumbag. Let's just get some sleep, yeah? God, bein' pregnant is _exhausting_."

"I can't even imagine." Kyosuke cuddles closer to Juzo, kisses his cheek. "I love you." Then, he presses a kiss to his own palm, gently placing it on Juzo's belly. "And I love them, too."

Juzo gives a soft little chuckle, closes his eyes and leans back against the pillow. "I love you, too." He slides his hand over the one Kyosuke's put over his belly, lacing their fingers together. "And so do they."

They fall asleep, knowing now that they're fully strapped in to the wildest ride of their lives.


	4. Ten weeks. Part two.

It's nearing three in the morning when Kyosuke wakes. The warmth that was next to him only a few seconds earlier is gone, and he can hear the footsteps of someone leaving the room fairly quickly. Not a moment later, the light across the hallway comes on, and the unmistakable sound of someone getting sick happens almost immediately afterwards.

Ah, yes. He should've expected this.

Kyosuke pulls himself out of bed and steps into the hallway bathroom, where Juzo is kneeling in front of the toilet, emptying his stomach repeatedly. He's using one hand to hold his bangs out of his face, and the other is wrapped tightly around his stomach. Crouching down next to him, Kyosuke holds his hair back instead, uses his free hand to rub his back while his body shakes.

"It's just me," Kyosuke murmurs when Juzo tenses. "Don't fight it, just let it come. It's alright."

After a solid ten minutes of puking, Juzo finally spits out some of the foul taste in his mouth, finally able to breathe normally and speak, though his voice is rough and unsteady.

"Ugh... I knew eatin' dinner would come back to bite me in the ass," he sighs. Juzo leans heavily against Kyosuke, who puts his arm around him now that he's done getting sick. "I'm sorry, Kyosuke. I woke you up, didn't I?"

"Don't worry about it," Kyosuke murmurs. "Would you like a glass of water? Do you have anything bland you can eat?"

Juzo shakes his head, then starts to stand up. "I'm just gonna wash my mouth out and go back to sleep. I don't wanna risk it." Kyosuke stands up with him, Juzo keeping one arm still wrapped around his midsection. "Your cubs're trying to kill me."

"It's just bad morning sickness. We'll talk to the doctor about it," Kyosuke says while Juzo uses the faucet to rinse out his mouth. "You're going to be alright, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

After a few moments, Juzo turns off the faucet and leans against the sink, then looks at Kyosuke pitifully. "Carry me back to bed?"

Kyosuke gives him a tiny smile. "Of course, darling. Carrying you to bed is the least I can do while you carry my children."

* * *

"W-well," Mikan Tsumiki stutters, several hours later after Kyosuke and Juzo have come to her office and she's finished her preliminary exam on Juzo, "y-you, um, seem t-to be in very good h-health... o-other than eating f-fewer sweets, I can't s-see anything special y-you need to do w-with this pregnancy, even w-with your p-past miscarriage..."

Both Kyosuke and Juzo heave sighs of relief, Juzo squeezing Kyosuke's hand tightly in his own. This whole visit hasn't exactly been _fun_ for him, what with all of the poking and prodding Mikan had to do, along with the pelvic exam (during which Kyosuke was actually legitimately afraid Juzo might snap his hand in half with how tightly he was holding it, but to his credit, said absolutely nothing), but he's taken it well so far.

"A-all we n-need now is the u-ultrasound, s-since you're around t-ten weeks, it's v-very important."

Juzo still has reservations about anyone other than Kyosuke putting their hands on or near his belly, but it has to be done, if only to ensure the safety of their cubs. Juzo bites his lip, rolls up his shirt and leans back against the cot while Mikan warms the gel a bit, never once letting go of Kyosuke's hand.

It all feels very surreal when the screen for the ultrasound machine comes to life, because even though neither of them know exactly what they're supposed to be looking at, there's a very loud, very clear, repetitive sound echoing through the room. It almost sounds like ocean waves, but as soon as he hears it, Juzo's iron grip on Kyosuke's hand relaxes.

He doesn't have to say anything. The completely mesmerized look on Juzo's face tells Kyosuke that he already knows exactly what this is: the heartbeats of their cubs.

They're both quiet as Mikan makes little digital marks on the screen, counting the number of heartbeats and dark shapes that indicate the number of cubs. When she finishes, she gives the two a shaky little smile.

"Y-you have s-seven very healthy cubs, c-congratulations!"

"Seven?" Juzo finally speaks, blinking widely. "You -- are you _sure_ there's seven?"

The nurse nods. "Yes, s-seven bodies, s-seven heartbeats. All p-perfectly normal."

Juzo and Kyosuke's eyes meet, and they know instinctively that they're thinking the same thing.

In six and a half months, they're going to have seven whole cubs. They're going to have to do a _lot_ more preparation than they originally planned for.

* * *

"Seven cubs?" Seiko asks, completely shocked as she stares at the couple over her cup of tea. Ruruka leans on her side closest to the arm of the couch, her chin in her hand as she, too, looks over at Juzo and Kyosuke. She's still uncomfortably pregnant, and definitely overdue just by looking at her, but even then she's only carrying four.

"Wow, you're going to be huge," Ruruka says plainly, chewing on her third cookie in ten minutes. "I mean, look at me with these four! I can barely move as it is."

"Gee, thanks," Juzo deadpans, glaring daggers at the pregnant bobcat.

"You're welcome," Ruruka replies cheerfully, the stare she gives in return cold enough to freeze water on sight.

"All that aside," Seiko murmurs, obviously trying to diffuse the situation, "I'm glad you came back to tell me in person. I have some pre-natal vitamins for you, and I also got you these." She shuffles around next to the couch for a moment, and then pulls out a cardboard box filled with...

"Uh. Are those lollipops?" Juzo asks when Seiko sets it down in front of him.

"Technically, yes, but they're formulated to help with nausea brought on by morning sickness," Seiko explains. "You can get them online. You told me you were having trouble keeping almost anything down, so I thought this might be a worthwhile buy."

"Huh. Okay," Juzo says, taking out one of the candies and staring at it. "Thanks, I get the feeling I'll need a shit ton of these." He huffs out a little laugh, then says:

"Oh, uh, Seiko? Thanks, by the way. For bein' there for me."

Seiko pulls down her mask a little and offers a smile. "No problem. What else are friends for?"

When their visit ends, that of course leaves them with only one final task:

It's time to go talk to Chisa.


	5. Ten weeks. Part three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ends the ten-week saga, next chapter we'll be moving ahead in time and getting closer to those main conflict(tm) moments you've all been waiting for! Also HUGE trigger warning for sexual abuse in the big italicized part near the end of the chapter.

It's late by the time they make their way to the home Chisa shares with Daiya, plus a few others. Their living arrangements can be confusing, even among weres; polyamory is not uncommon, but this particular version is. Chisa and Yasuhiro Hagakure both date Daiya, while Yasuhiro himself is married to his wife, Chihiro Hagakure (formerly Fujisaki, before being married), but Chihiro and Yasuhiro's relationship is completely disconnected from the one Chisa, Daiya, and Yasuhiro share, save for living in the same house. It was more than slightly difficult to wrap their heads around at first, though the four adults in the house seem completely nonchalant about their living arrangements.

As it turns out, it's Daiya who answers the door, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. The wolf-dog stares pointedly at Kyosuke for a second, then looks at Juzo and gives a little grin. "Yo," he greets, leaning heavily against the cane held at his right side. "Nobody said my girlfriend's best friends were comin' over, else I might've put a shirt on."

"Lying is a sin," Juzo deadpans. "You gonna let us in, or what?"

"Yeah, sure, just watch where ya step," Daiya replies, shuffling carefully out of the way. Juzo and Kyosuke can quickly see why: Yasuhiro is passed out on the floor, surrounded by three fluffy sleeping bodies: Miruki, Kiyu, and Atsuki Hagakure, the three older cubs of Yasuhiro and Chihiro. The cubs' mother is asleep on the couch, covered completely by a fluffy blanket, only the tops of her fennec fox ears sticking out from underneath.

Three years ago, Chihiro was able to bear biological cubs of herself and Yasuhiro through an extremely complicated process which no one envied. Not to say that they weren't happy for her, of course; the programmer had been through a lot just to be able to transition at all. She deserved to get what she yearned for more than anything: cubs, born from her own body.

For a moment, Juzo almost wishes they could trade places, wishing it would've taken more for him to get pregnant, so then at least he would've had more time to figure things out. That, and Chihiro was able to choose how many embryos were implanted into her. The roll of the dice had been all that decided Juzo's fate (and, of course, how many eggs his ovaries decided to put out during his heat).

As Daiya leads them to the back of the house, he speaks once he's out of earshot of his sleeping mate and his mate's wife. "So, congrats on the litter," he starts to say. "Cherish the first trimester, my friend. It might _seem_ like it sucks, but once you pass that mark into the second trimester, n' you start cravin' weird shit, are horny all the time, n' can't sleep 'cause your kids think your spine's a trampoline, you'll wish you could go back."

"I'll take your word for it," Juzo mumbles. Like himself, Daiya has also been pregnant once before, but unlike himself, Daiya's offspring survived, though he only had one to start with. He had been only thirteen when his son, Yuki Oowada, was born, and subsequently taken from him by his ex-boyfriend, if one could call him that. At the time of his son's birth, Jiro Yukimura had been seven years older than Daiya. A shudder runs down Juzo's spine when he thinks of it, for more reasons than one.

Unlike Juzo's story, Daiya's has a relatively happy ending. Two years ago, he got full and complete custody of Yuki, though it ended up not really mattering in the long run, anyway. Later that year, Jiro returned, hellbent on killing Daiya and taking back "what belonged to him."

Too bad for Jiro, that Chisa knows how to use a gun.

Perhaps Juzo and Daiya are more alike than he realized at first, Juzo thinks.

Daiya leads them fully into the second half of the house, where Chisa is nestled in an armchair, half-reading a book, until she notices her friends and mate arrive. There's a stack of graded papers on the table next to her, clearly showing what she's been doing all night.

"Ah! My boys," Chisa grins, hopping up out of her seat and tossing the book in it, before racing over to pull Juzo and Kyosuke into a hug. As soon as she pulls back, she carefully puts her arms around Daiya, sweeping him into her arms, carrying him back to where she was previously sitting and settling back down. "I heard you went and saw Mikan today! Good news?"

Juzo flops down on the couch next to the armchair, looking over at Kyosuke as he settles down next to him. "We're all in perfect health," Juzo says. "Me, and the seven cubs."

"Drat." Daiya blows a raspberry and leans into Chisa's lap. "They outdid us by one, babe."

"Aww, too bad, we'll make it up someday," Chisa replies playfully. "Anyway, good job to the two of you! I'm glad to hear you're all doing fine."

"Yeah, well, about that," Juzo mumbles, rubs at the back of his head. He slides one hand down to Kyosuke's, laces their fingers together. "Chisa, you remember when I had my miscarriage, right?"

Chisa's eyes darken a little, and she frowns. "I remember every detail from that day. I could tell you what you were wearing down to your shoes. Why?"

"Did I... do you remember _anything_ from what the doctors told you?" Juzo asks seriously. "I just know that H -- uh -- my ex, he wanted the medical information, but he wasn't listed as my immediate family, you were. So he never got 'em. I just... the thing is, I can't remember if they said anything about risks to any future pregnancies I might have."

The she-wolf's eyes narrow, though her apparent anger isn't directed at Juzo. "The trauma that caused the miscarriage wouldn't leave any lasting effects, no. Not physically, anyway." Chisa's gaze softens. "Why did you need to ask _me_ about that? Don't you remember? You were --"

"Yeah, I tripped, and I fell," Juzo finishes; or, rather, cuts her off. Kyosuke notices, but says nothing. It's not his place yet to pry. "But then you told me to dump him afterwards. You were _pissed_. Said you'd kill him if I didn't leave him first."

"And I would have!" Chisa confirms. "He had the nerve to try and cut me out of your life, _and_ talk about wanting to make you his "perfect girl." I know rotting meat when I smell it, Juzo."

His body stiffens completely at her words. _Perfect girl._

_The strong scent of cheap liquor, cigarettes, and rotting teeth nearly chokes Juzo as [REDACTED] grabs his face, pulls him closer. He wants to throw up, but between being sore and how weak-kneed his heat makes him, getting up is impossible._

_"You wanna be my perfect girl, don't you?" He says. His claws dig into the sides of the boxer's face, forcing him to look him in the eyes. They're completely cold, and dead. The eyes of a killer. "Wanna let me breed you 'till you can't take it no more, right? 'till you're so used up, I'm the only man who'll ever want you?"_

_"I d--" Juzo tries to speak. [REDACTED]'s claws dig deeper into the soft skin on his face, little rivulets of blood running down his cheeks, mixing with the tears._

_"Choose carefully, young lady."_

_This isn't about what he wants. This is about survival._

_"Yes, [REDACTED]. Yes, I do."_

_The claws retract._

_"Good girl."_

"Juzo?"

Kyosuke's voice cuts through the fog of his mind, just as sharp as the katana he carries. The eyes that look into his are loving, gentle. The hand that holds his is soft and warm.

"Juzo, are you alright?" Kyosuke continues. "You were completely unresponsive there for a minute."

"I'm fine," Juzo says, far too quickly to actually be fine. "Just, ah. Just a memory, 's all."

"... alright." Kyosuke squeezes his hand, looks in Chisa's direction, but it's Daiya's gaze, completely focused on Juzo, that catches his attention.

"It wasn't your fault," the wolf-dog says after a few more beats of silence. "Just think about that. Next time you hear his voice, just say it out loud."

"What are you, a psychic?" Juzo grumbles half-heartedly, looking at Daiya out of the corner of his eye.

"Nah, nah, not psychic. Just a survivor. I know what a flashback looks like."

Juzo says nothing. He only leans back further into Kyosuke's arms and keeps his own arms wrapped tightly around his belly.

The two men never touch, but they connect on a level far deeper than anything else.


	6. Twelve weeks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juzo has a non-detailed nightmare at the beginning of the chapter, and while there's not really a warning needed, it does foreshadow some things! So pay attention. And anyone who figures out what movie it's a reference from gets a virtual cookie and a hug!

_"Come here."_

_The voice floats down from the top of the stairs, along with the smell of hospitals and rotten flesh. Juzo pauses at the bottom of the stairs, claw-tips barely poking from his paws. The smell is horrible, but the voice is so sweet..._

_Like antifreeze._

_He makes his way up the stairs, pushes through the only door at the top, cracked open as though waiting for him. A man stands alone in the center of the room, wearing a dark jacket that completely covers his body. Juzo stands, back legs pressed against the far wall as the man turns to face him --_

_Nothing. Darkness. He has no face._

_Juzo gives a surprised hiss, but then the voice comes again, soft and sweet._

_"Come here, my pet, and see what a lovely **gift** I have for you."_

_It's as though the voice melts his inhibitions, and he steps forward. The man bends down to slip a collar of leather and jewels around his neck, strokes his mane, and then stands upright once more._

_If it'd ended there, it might've been nice._

_The lion blinks, and now the collar is a prong, each long stick of metal digging harshly into his throat. A heavy chain goes from the collar to the man's hand, and he yanks with such force, it pulls the lion to his side without any resistance at all._

_When he looks up at the black hole of his face, he sees eyes peering back at him._

_The eyes of a killer._

"Juzo!"

Juzo wakes, his jaws parted mid-yowl, pupils blown impossibly wide as he turns his head to the side, body covered in cold sweat. Kyosuke's sitting up on his knees, eyes wide and worried as Juzo shakes.

_It's okay, it's Kyosuke. Not **him.** Not the same eyes._

He gasps in breaths as Kyosuke pulls him in close, resting his head against his chest, letting him hear the beat of his heart, strong and steady. Just like it's always been. Juzo clings to him like he's the only thing keeping him sane, body shaking with sobs. Everything _hurts_, so deep in his bones, how would he even begin to explain?

"Kyosuke," he finally chokes out after a few moments of being completely unable to speak. "I -- I -- **he** was there -- I couldn't --"

"It's alright," Kyosuke murmurs, kissing the top of his head. "Just relax, take deep breaths. Calm down. If you want to talk about it then, I will be here to listen. But please, don't force yourself to talk."

Juzo nods against him, presses his face deeper into Kyosuke's chest, further into his embrace.

He falls back into an uneasy sleep a few minutes later, wrapped in his boyfriend's arms for the rest of the night.

* * *

"What did you buy a calendar for?"

Juzo twitches an ear in Kyosuke's direction as he hangs the calendar up in the kitchen, flipping the pages to "February".

"You'll see," he answers, a little smirk on his face as he circles the 17th in red. For a moment, Kyosuke is quiet, then raises an eyebrow as it hits him.

"That's your due date," he says. "Or, at least what they think it is. Tsumiki said "give or take a few days", so there's really no telling when the cubs will come --"

"Babe, I know that," Juzo sighs, his tone still mostly playful. "I was there. In the room. Y'know. 'Cause I'm the one who's pregnant?"

Kyosuke steps up behind him, puts his arms around his waist and pulls him close, resting his cheek between his shoulders. "I know. It's still hard to believe."

"It won't be here real soon," Juzo mumbles. "Not once I get fat."

"You won't be fat, you'll be pregnant," Kyosuke says, voice muffled though his boyfriend's shirt. "Even if you were, I'd still love you. It doesn't matter to me."

"Aww, c'mon," Juzo huffs. "You're sayin' I stayed in shape all these years for you, all for nothin'?"

"Hey, I never said I _didn't_ like it," Kyosuke laughs, lifting his head and kissing the crook of Juzo's neck. His ears swivel around, twitching with interest. "Just that I love you either way."

"Mhm."

Kyosuke's hands slide around to his belly, rubbing gently with his palm. "I swear it. Your body is as perfect as you are."

"You really mean that?" Juzo murmurs, voice soft.

"Of course, darling. I never say anything I don't mean to the fullest extent."

* * *

Telling their co-workers at Hope's Peak goes a lot more smoothly than either man imagined. Juzo wants to wait until they pass the twelve week mark, and until the flurry of excitement at the arrival of Sonosuke, Ruruka, and Seiko's cubs dies down a bit. It's not too hard for either of them to wait; they still have six whole months, it's not like they're in a rush.

Most of the reactions are predictable, anyway; the only ones truly worth noting are Koichi Kizakura and Makoto Togami-Naegi.

"Well," Koichi says first when they tell him. "I'm assuming that means, Juzo, you won't be taking active rounds from here on out, then?"

"I've still got a couple more weeks," Juzo protests, right as Kyosuke says "Absolutely not." The two of them stare at each other.

Ah. Yes. That's the thing they have yet to talk about.

The blonde snickers. "Dear, oh dear. Did I hit a sore spot?"

"No," Juzo grumbles after a moment. "My boyfriend thinks I'm made of glass, that's all."

"Wrong," Kyosuke huffs. "You are far more precious."

"Aww, get a room," Koichi fake-scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'll see you in eh... about three months. I'm taking some time off."

"How good are you at talkin' that you got Kirigiri to give you three months off?" Juzo asks, staring at him incredulously.

Koichi snickers. "It's not talking I'm good at."

They decide to leave it at that.

In contrast, when Makoto hears it, he goes wide-eyed. The peppy alumni has never really been a favorite of either Kyosuke's or Juzo's, but they figure he'll end up hearing about it somehow, and they'd rather it come from them than a third party.

"Geez, there must be _something_ in the water around here," Makoto says, entirely shocked. "Hajime told me last week that Nagito's pregnant, this morning Kyoko texted me that she and Celeste are having a litter, and now you guys." He rubs at the back of his head. "I'm happy for you, don't get me wrong, but I'd better not bring the news home to Byakuya. He's not too fond of the idea."

"It's not the water there's somethin' in," Juzo quips.

Kyosuke coughs. "Anyway. Give the others our congratulations."

"Of course!" Suddenly, a light appears to come on in Makoto's head, and his eyes brighten. "That does make me think, though --"

"So you do that sometimes?" Kyosuke says under his breath. Makoto either doesn't hear it, or just ignores him and continues.

"-- we haven't had an alumni reunion in a while. Maybe this year's should be baby-shower themed?" His labrador tail is already wagging, as though he won't hear _no_ as an answer. "I mean, with how many of us have either had litters, or are having them, it'd be fun!"

"Yes, well, you have fun with that, then," Kyosuke says quickly, taking Juzo's hand and pulling him along. "We'll be busy. Doing actual work."

"I know you hate him, but why'd you leave so fast?" Juzo asks once they're a safe distance away.

"Because, if I accidentally give him another idea, I'm going to fall on my own sword," Kyosuke deadpans, not missing a beat.

* * *

"I thought you were just going to get milk."

Kyosuke stares at Juzo, who sits on the couch, surrounded by various candy wrappers. Juzo looks him straight in the eye and shoves a twix into his mouth.

"I was. Then the candy was on sale, I wanted it, I got it."

"Did you need five pounds of candy?"

"This's the price you pay for getting me knocked up," Juzo says plainly, opening a Milky Way. "The day you grow a uterus and get pregnant is the day you can criticize me."

Kyosuke has to admit, Juzo has a point, so he chalks this battle up as a loss and sighs, resigning himself to making dinner tonight.


	7. Thirteen weeks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for misgendering and dead-naming in this chapter, please be careful!

Juzo wakes to the smell of food, but not just any food: it's the characteristic smell of hamburgers. Something he hasn't had in a while, and something Kyosuke definitely does not make.

However, when Juzo steps out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes, there he is, standing at the stove, carefully testing the cooked meat to ensure that it's completely done. Kyosuke is completely focused, his gaze flickering from the food to the open cookbook next to him, tail twitching every so often.

"What're you doin'?" Juzo finally mumbles after staring at him for a few minutes. "You told me you couldn't _stand_ hamburgers."

"They're not for me," Kyosuke says. "They're for you."

He won't lie, Juzo's pretty shocked as he sits down at the table in the kitchen, props his elbow up on it and puts his chin in his hand. "Then why'd you make --" he looks to the plate set aside beside the stove, " -- six of 'em?"

"Because you need to eat," Kyosuke replies simply. Determining that the last two are finished, he removes them from the pan and places them on the plate, shifting the pan off of the active element on the stove. "Don't look at me like that. We both know you need to eat a lot more than you have been."

Juzo frowns. "Well, yeah, but --"

"No buts." Kyosuke pauses. "What do you want on them?"

"Cheese and ketchup," Juzo answers after a beat of silence. "I can make my own --"

"Don't get up," Kyosuke says quickly. "I'll do it. You stay right there."

Juzo grumbles under his breath, but he doesn't get up as Kyosuke makes his food, then brings him two of the prepared hamburgers. "Here. Let me know if I did it right."

Knowing that there's no way he's going to get out of this, Juzo picks one of them up and takes a bite, chewing slowly, then swallowing as Kyosuke sits across from him and watches him.

"Kyosuke..." Juzo starts to say, setting the food down on his plate for a moment. He sniffs, then, and starts to rub hard at his eyes. "It's -- _perfect_, baby, I --"

Tears start to roll down his cheeks, and Kyosuke is immediately on alert. "Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" Juzo yelps, moving his hand so he can look at his boyfriend. "No, you -- did everything _right_, that's the problem! I don't -- I don't deserve you!"

Kyosuke gives a soft little laugh, reaching across the table to take his hand. "No, darling. It is _I _who doesn't deserve _you_."

"What're you talking about, you're the one who does everything for us," Juzo sniffs, trying desperately to calm down while he squeezes Kyosuke's hand.

"Well, to begin with, I am not the one carrying seven cubs," Kyosuke says simply. "You have been through so much, with and without me at your side. In all honesty? I am... _amazed_ that a man like you would settle for a man like me."

"_Settle_?" Juzo laughs incredulously. "My God, Kyosuke, you make it sound like you live under a fuckin' bridge." He sniffs again, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "By the way, I'd still love you even if you did."

Kyosuke leans forward just a bit to kiss Juzo, then smiles when he pulls back. "I still can't believe you waited for me to wake up and realize that my future -- the thing I tried so hard to find that was constantly just out of my reach -- had been by my side the whole time. The least I can do for you is make you some stupid hamburgers, even if I don't like them."

Juzo lets out another shaky breath when Kyosuke finishes. "I woulda waited forever. Even if it killed me. That's what you do when you love somebody."

* * *

"Oh, for God's sake."

Kyosuke turns his head upon hearing Juzo's voice, raising an eyebrow slightly. The other man is staring down at his phone, an expression of undeniable anger on his face.

"What's the matter, darling?" Kyosuke asks quietly.

Juzo grimaces. "My fuckin' father, that's the matter. Swear to God, I've blocked him on five different numbers, but the bastard won't take the hint."

Kyosuke's eyes narrow. "Is this the same father who kindly told you to off yourself right after your mother died?"

"The one and only," Juzo growls. "Somehow he got news about the cubs, so now he wants to try bein' "Dad of the Year." Fat fuckin' chance."

Kyosuke gets up from the arm chair and steps over to the couch, sitting down next to Juzo and putting a hand on his arm. "Just turn your phone off," he says. "You don't need to be dealing with all of this stress."

"Can't," Juzo replies. "I'm texting somebody."

"Who?"

"Daiya."

"... come again?"

"Daiya. Oowada. Chisa's boyfriend? Disabled ex-biker?"

"I'm aware of who he is, love. What I'm wondering now is why you two are talking."

Juzo snickers. "What? Are you jealous?"

Kyosuke can't keep his face from flushing bright red. "Absolutely not! I was simply unaware you two were friends now."

"Yeah, well, we got shared trauma and all that. Plus, we both love Chisa, and we're due around the same time, so. Gives us shit to talk about."

"Right."

"... you _are_ jealous!"

"I am not!"

The pair's bickering continues on, the topic of abusive fathers long forgotten. 

* * *

When he answers the knock on the door to Juzo's apartment a few days later, Kyosuke is wholly unprepared for who he sees standing in the doorway.

"... Miyoko," he forces out through his teeth. The woman standing before him has stark white hair pulled back into a bun, eyes so purple they're almost blue, and pricked Akita ears and a curled tail. Kyosuke is her spitting image.

It makes him sick.

"How incredibly rude, referring to your mother by her first name," Miyoko Munakata says after a moment's pause. "I thought I raised you better than that, Kyosuke."

"That would imply that you raised me at all," Kyosuke quips. "The last time we spoke, you attempted to kill me."

"You cannot prove that."

"We both know. I am not trying to prove it to anyone." His eyes narrow. "What are you doing here. And if you'd rather me not call you Miyoko, I can always call you something more fitting. How does _heartless bitch_ sound?"

Miyoko doesn't show any outward emotion, but Kyosuke knows instinctively he's hit a nerve. "I heard you had started to settle down. I wanted to inspect this... Bond-mate myself. See if the two of us can bury the hatchet. I have come to the hard conclusion that women do not interest you, but the least I can do is ensure you are not tainting the Munakata name."

Kyosuke curls his lip, but before he can say anything, he hears Juzo's voice from behind him: "Go ahead, babe. Let her in. 's my apartment, after all." He's standing behind him, dressed in a bathrobe and loose sweatpants. For now, his expression is neutral, so despite Kyosuke's hesitance, he steps aside to let the unfortunate woman known as his mother in.

"So," Miyoko begins, making her way towards the lion were. The sound of her heels clicking across the linoleum is enough to drive Kyosuke insane, if only because it's her. She pulls her own fur coat tighter around her waist as Juzo leans against the wall, his own robe falling open quite a bit. He's never really been one to care about his chest, even though he never got top surgery; all of the working out he did and the testosterone made him practically indistinguishable from any other well-built boxer, anyway. "You are the man my son has... hmm... supposedly fallen in love with?"

Juzo pulls one side of the robe aside to show the bond-mark on his chest. "I'd say it's a little more than _supposed_, considering I have this and nobody else does."

Miyoko's eyes flash. "And how am I to know that mark is the same as my son's? I am just supposed to trust the words of a wild-natured homosexual?"

"You can trust me," Kyosuke says, unbuttoning his shirt just enough to show the same mark over his heart. "Or have you fallen so far into your own ego that you no longer trust me, as well?"

Miyoko exhales sharply. "No. I trust you, my son. I still have hope that you will come to your senses about this fling eventually." Suddenly, her lip curls, and she sniffs at the air for a second. "Would either of you like to tell me why it smells like a pregnant female in here?"

"You're half-right." Juzo shrugs. "I'm not a female, but I'm pregnant. Thirteen weeks." For a moment, Miyoko just stares at him. Juzo curls his lip, now, in a crude, wry smirk. "Yeah. They're Kyosuke's. And, unfortunately, your grandkids. But don't think I'm gonna let you get close enough to kill 'em like you did your own kids."

"Hmm. So he told you that story, did he?" Miyoko says. "Anyway. It looks like I was right about my son, after all. He still shares the same urge as all bear-dogs do, to continue on his own bloodline. Though you are not what I expected, we can make a presentable, acceptable female of you in time."

Juzo's eyes flash with more rage than Kyosuke thought possible, his ears slowly pinning back against his skull. "Run that by me one more time, would you? I don't think I heard you clearly the first time." His claws dig into the drywall, his voice low and dangerous.

"Juzo," Kyosuke warns. "Just tell her to leave. She isn't worth wasting your time, energy, or fists on."

A look of recognition flashes across Miyoko's face. "Ah, yes. _You._ Juzo Sakakura, the Ultimate Boxer. What a violent, unruly profession for a well-bred female such as yourself to enter. Ah... or should I call you Ryoko?"

"Y'know, I kinda thought it _might_ be possible to fix shit with you, but clearly that's not gonna happen," Juzo growls. "Get outta my house, you nasty fuckin' bitch. Clearly you're not used to bein' put in your place."

"And you need to find yours," Miyoko says. Sighing, she flicks her wrist. "Your personality is foul. But I believe there can be use for you yet, if you can birth more bear-dogs for the family." Her heels click again as she walks back to the door, then pauses and looks over her shoulder. "I trust my son will know what to do with any offspring who do not meet the Munakata standard."

Kyosuke doesn't acknowledge her statement. "You heard him. _Get out_. And if you come around again, I will _personally_ make sure you suffer for it."

With a flick of her tail and a dismissive "hmm", Miyoko is gone, almost as quickly as she came.

For a moment, Juzo and Kyosuke stand there, watching the door, before Kyosuke gives a shuddering sigh. "I should never have opened the door. I am sorry, Juzo."

"Nah, 's fine. I'm glad you did." Juzo steps up, puts his arm around Kyosuke's waist. "Had to see how shitty she was myself, y'know? Anyway, let's go to bed. I'm goddamn exhausted."

"She tends to have that effect on others," Kyosuke sighs, rubbing at his forehead. "For as long as I live, I will make it my goal to ensure that our cubs never have to deal with the likes of her."


End file.
